A chinkapin oak tree is on the property of a Stewart's Shops store on Mill street. The company is planning to tear down the building and rebuild on the same location. When Mike Lumbis , the Watertown city planner heard about the plans, he sprang into action to save the tree.

"It's in very good condition and we asked them if they would consider saving it and making a few minor changes to their site plan and they agreed to do so," said Lumbis.

Once Stewart's Shops heard Lumbis's plea, the company agreed to slightly alter its plans to save the tree.

"So at this point we looked into it a little bit more and decided that it was important enough to the city and it was worthwhile to tweak our plans a bit," said Maria D'Amelia, a Stewart's Shops representative.

The oak tree weathered severe weather in the 1990s and survived. It looks now, that the tree has dodged another bullet.